1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to data acquisition systems. More particularly, it relates to systems for acquiring and manipulating blood pressure information taken from a plurality of patients.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are 60 million hypertensives in the United States, 40 million of whom have been diagnosed. 30 million of those diagnosed are being treated by physicians. It is desirable for physicians who are treating hypertensives to monitor their patient's blood pressure throughout the day, on a day-to-day basis.
Existing blood pressure monitors are very expensive microprocessor based products. They are generally very intelligent, employing complex algorithms to not only take blood pressure readings, but to perform some sort of special analysis. Due to the complexity and expense of these monitors, it is hard for doctors to accummulate accurate, ambulatory hypertension monitoring information without a large investment.